Israel Matzav

Jordan not civilized enough for UN peacekeepers

You might recall that last week, 21 Filipino troops acting as UN observers were kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights and held for a couple of days. On Saturday, they were released across the border into Jordan.

I'm sure that you'll all be shocked to hear that Jordan just wasn't civilized enough for them. They're now in Israel.

UN peacekeepers held by rebels for three days in southern Syria and freed at the weekend crossed into Israel from neighboring Jordan on Monday, a military spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman would not comment, however, on a report by an Israeli newspaper that Israeli troops had later escorted the 21 Filipino peacekeepers back to their base along the Syrian frontier with the Golan Heights, which are occupied by Israel.

...

"I can confirm that they came into Israel today, from Jordan," the Israeli spokeswoman said of the freed peacekeepers.

It was not immediately clear why the peacekeepers would end up in Israel, but, logistically, it would be safe for them to return to their main command post via Israel.

The spokeswoman refused to comment on the report on the Maariv newspaper's website that Israeli soldiers had escorted the Filipinos by bus from the Jordan border region to their base in the Golan.

The paper said that Israel, already worried about Syria's two-year civil war spilling across its border, was also concerned that the incident with the peacekeepers might lead member countries to pull troops out of UNDOF.

Maybe they just wanted some R&R in a civilized country. 

Labels: Free Syrian Army, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Syrian uprising, UNDOF

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:29 PM